“I’m proud that I have the courage to do this!”

Victoria Bergfors was previously an architect and office manager at the consulting firm AFRY before she decided to start her own business. She runs Bergfors Projektbyrå AB from her home in the scenic village of Tannsele.

“I chose to start my own business to test my limits, since I have a broad range of skills and a drive to constantly grow—both as a person and in my professional role—which is also reflected in what Bergfors Projektbyrå AB has to offer,” says 34-year-old Victoria Bergfors.

During her ten years at AFRY (a consulting firm specializing in urban planning, design, and infrastructure) and previously at TM Konsult, where she was hired as a recent graduate with a master’s degree in architecture, she has held various roles, primarily as an architect but also as a project manager.

–At AFRY, I developed multidisciplinary expertise that gave me the ability to see the big picture and stay up to date in the industry on a whole new level. I was inspired by people around me who had chosen to start their own businesses and by their experiences of daring to take that step. The fact that I started my own business right now was probably largely because I felt the time was right and that the decision had been maturing for a long time. I was also curious about entrepreneurship itself and how to run a business,” says Victoria.

A better start than expected

–Bergfors Projektbyrå is committed to putting the client’s needs and vision first; I believe that the best projects are created collaboratively, within a project culture where individuals work toward the same goal.

–My first few months as a self-employed person have been better than I could have hoped for and, at the same time, very educational. The feedback I’ve received is heartwarming and means a lot—both from family and friends, as well as from clients and others in my industry. It’s a level of freedom with responsibility unlike anything else, where all the time you put in and everything you accomplish comes back 100 percent to me and the company—you set the bar yourself. I’ve been very busy, and projects keep coming in, for which I’m grateful.

Victoria’s future plans and goals for her business are to continue growing and become an established consultant whose services are in demand by clients, primarily in northern Sweden. “In the near term, my main focus is on getting my business off the ground and setting long-term goals for my operations and the business as a whole.”

Excellent career opportunities

Victoria sees nothing but opportunities in running the company from the interior.

“I’d say the career opportunities in this industry up here are good.” “In Lycksele, we have several consulting firms that are surely interested in hiring now that the market is turning around and there’s a lot of construction going on in the north,” says Victoria, explaining that it hasn’t always been easy to hire because the influx of new residents has been low compared to the demand for skilled workers, and that it’s often people returning to their hometowns—like herself—who are moving in.

– We need to do a better job of promoting inland communities and explaining why people should move here specifically. Many large companies have offices in several locations along the coast, and sometimes employees can set up “satellite offices,” which means they don’t have to move away from the inland areas or can continue working along the coast even if they move here.

Expanded Geographical Boundaries

Another option is to start your own business, just like Victoria, who firmly believes there is a market for both large giants like AFRY and small one-person businesses.

Over the course of her career, Victoria has seen how opportunities for remote work have only increased. First, when the locally based TM Konsult became part of the nationwide AFRY. Then came the pandemic, which paved the way for team meetings that expanded geographical boundaries.

-Now that I’ve taken the next step and started my own business, I’m not tied to the local market but will continue to work with clients throughout Sweden. However, the construction market in Northern Sweden has really taken off, so there are advantages to being here on the ground as well.

Safe, close by, and just the right size

After growing up and attending high school in Lycksele, Victoria headed to Luleå, where she attended university. She also spent some time in Skellefteå before deciding to return to her hometown to try her luck as an adult. The tranquility, the sense of community, and the town’s just-right size appealed to her, and she quickly landed a job at TM Konsult (now AFRY), where she had previously completed an internship and worked during the summer. 

Victoria now lives with her husband in the picturesque village of Tannsele, just a stone's throw from downtown Lycksele. There are many advantages to living here, not least its geographical location right between the coast and the mountains.

-We’re close to our cabin in the mountains, where we love to ride snowmobiles and pick chanterelles, and we’re also close to Umeå, with its shopping and entertainment, if we feel like it. Plus, my network of friends and family means a lot to me.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained

She emphasizes that if you want to live in your own house outside of town, there’s hardly a better place—with low housing prices, nature, and snowmobile trails right outside your door, and just a 15-minute drive to the amenities in downtown Lycksele.

-I don't have any desire to travel abroad and go backpacking like many others either; instead, I enjoy the security, closeness, and freedom here. That beats most other things.

Her advice to others who are thinking about starting their own business is to take the plunge.

–You can do your research and think things through, but in the end, it’s about taking a chance, believing in yourself and your business idea. There’s plenty of help and support available for the areas where you feel uncertain, as well as support and grants you can apply for to get started.

–So far, I'm most proud of the fact that I dared to do it!

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Text: Monica Wiksten Gideonsson
Photo: www.ricke.se